An Ninh (from Hanoi ) and his close friend Sang just had their first trip to Africa with a special stop being the island nation of Madagascar, located off the southeast coast of this continent, in the Indian Ocean. This is also the fourth largest island in the world with a total area of nearly 590,000 km2, after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.
The Vietnamese guy discovered Madagascar in early July. Before that, he had set foot in many other countries such as Myanmar, Philippines, Indonesia, India,...
Madagascar was separated from mainland Africa more than 100 million years ago, possessing a flora and fauna that developed independently from the rest of the planet. Of which, nearly 80% of Madagascar's species do not exist anywhere else on Earth. Because of these characteristics, this island nation is also nicknamed "the 8th continent". Although not a tourist destination known and sought after by many people, Madagascar is still a land that contains different and interesting things that make young tourists who love to explore and experience like An Ninh decide to choose as a stopover. "Since I was a child, I have seen images of giant Baobab trees in movies and TV and found them extremely impressive. Since then, I have also cherished the dream of seeing that tree in real life. And when I learned that Madagascar is the land of giant Baobab trees, I had the idea of coming here once in my life and finally I was able to fulfill that wish", Ninh shared.
The first time setting foot in an African country, An Ninh chose to travel on a tour to have the most suitable and impressive experiences.
The Vietnamese guy couldn't help but be delighted by the wild, pure beauty of Madagascar that is hard to find anywhere else in the world. Travel An Ninh's trip to Madagascar lasted 12 days (including travel time), from June 30 to July 12. This time in Madagascar is the dry season (lasting from April to October every year), the weather is sunny, the highest temperature is 30 degrees Celsius, so it is convenient for traveling and exploring. If you come here during the rainy season, many dirt roads are flooded, making it difficult for visitors to access destinations.
Although the island nation is very large, the population in Madagascar is quite sparse. They live in villages with typical thatched houses. Before the trip, An Ninh and Sang spent time learning about life and culture in Madagascar. This is the 11th country in the list of "The poorest countries in the world". The road infrastructure in Madagascar is still very backward. Only a few routes connecting to major cities have asphalt, while most of the roads for tourists to travel to tourist destinations are seriously degraded dirt roads with many potholes. An Ninh said that there were days when they spent 10 hours traveling to their destination. Many roads were even flooded and muddy. “There was a stretch of road where our group’s car got stuck twice. And each time, the people living and working nearby ran out to help, enthusiastically finding ways to get the car out of the mud. Even though we had to wade through mud and fill in the dirt, the work was quite hard, but they didn’t mind at all, which really touched our group,” the 9X recalled.
An Ninh admitted that he had mentally prepared himself for the hardships and deprivations of the trip, but fortunately everything went well with interesting and "unique" experiences . Experience With inconvenient travel, while Madagascar is the 4th largest island in the world, the two Hanoi boys only had time to explore part of the eastern region and the central highlands despite having 11 days of experience here.
9X took pictures at the geological park in the Tsingy de Bemaraha nature reserve, one of three world heritage sites of Madagascar.
The legendary "baobab avenue" in Morondava city makes anyone who sets foot here amazed and fascinated. In Madagascar, An Ninh and Sang have the opportunity to visit many destinations with interesting experiences such as checking in at the legendary Baobab avenue, exploring the Kirindy dry forest and hunting lemurs, participating in a hiking tour at the sharp rock mountain Tsingy de Bemaraha,... In addition, they also experience the fishing village of Belo Sur Mer and hunt sperm whales in the South Atlantic, explore Madagascar's cities such as Morondava, Antsirabe, and the capital Antananarivo.
Beautiful sunset scene at the fishing village of Belo Sur Mer
“It is really difficult to say which destination left the biggest impression on me. If Baobab Avenue is the place that made me admire and love it so much that I had to come back 3 times, then the fishing village of Belo Sur Mer is the place that impressed me the most because the sunset scene here is truly so beautiful. The sky at that time kept changing colors, reflecting on the calm sea. Walking along the beach in the afternoon, watching the sails returning to shore at dusk was truly a fascinating experience,” the young man shared.
Nearly 80% of Madagascar's plant and animal species exist nowhere else on Earth. Pictured is a lemur in the dry forest of Kirindy National Park.
Regarding accommodation, 9X said that some hotels in Kirindy village or Belo Sur Mer village still have power shortages. Here, the grid only provides electricity for a fixed time of the day, and high-power devices are not allowed to be used. Regarding food, Ninh commented that local cuisine is a bit difficult to eat, sold a lot in traditional markets with two main fruits: bananas and tangerines. Therefore, they often choose Western-style food and find it quite suitable for their taste. Another thing that surprised Ninh was that although Madagascar is among the poorest countries in the world, the cost of traveling here is not cheap. The young man said that the cost of SIM cards and Internet here is quite expensive, about 32 Euros (nearly 900,000 VND) for a 3G SIM package with 50GB from the Telma network. However, 9X believes that Madagascar is still a destination worth exploring, especially for those who love to travel and seek new, "unique" experiences.
In addition to the impressive wild natural landscape, the two Hanoi boys were also moved by the sincerity, enthusiasm and friendliness of the local people. “Although the people here have a difficult life, the energy in them always radiates a strange optimism and is very friendly. The children are always excited to see the passing vehicles, they always wave when a tourist vehicle passes through the village,” the 9X said. Note that Ninh said, regarding visa procedures, Vietnamese citizens can apply for a visa right at the airport for 10 USD (more than 240,000 VND). Visitors only need to give their passport to the visa officer, and after 5 minutes they will receive a stamp. Currently, Vietnam does not have direct flights to Madagascar. Visitors from Hanoi must fly to Mumbai (India), transit in Mauritius or Kenya, and then have a direct flight to the capital Antanario of Madagascar. Visitors can bring Euros, then exchange them for Ariary (Madagascar's currency). 1,000 Ariary is equivalent to about 5,000 VND.
Summing up the trip, Ninh said it cost more than 100 million VND/person, including 72 million VND for the tour, 28 million VND for airfare and other miscellaneous expenses. Due to the difficult roads and language barrier, the two Vietnamese tourists chose to travel on a tour with a total cost of 72 million VND/person for 11 days, including services such as pick-up and drop-off by specialized tourist car, staying at a good 4-5 star hotel in each area, meals during the day and entrance tickets. Phan Dau - Photo: An Ninh/OntheMars